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Fun times and great running at Newport 10k on Saturday, May 14. Despite warm weather we had strong running and a lot of spirit! Here are your RVRR team results: Open Women got 7th, 9th, and 13th, and Open Men got 9th and 14th. Congrats to age group winners Wendy D. Reed, Marcia Hodulik, Lorraine White, Jo Ann Coffee, and Imme Dyson!

Our next team race is the College Ave. Mile on June 4th at 5pm. This is an Open Men and Women team race – don’t forget, anyone can run on the open teams! Let your team captain know if you are interested in racing for the team. When you register you choose your mile heat based upon your age and expected time. http://collegeavemile.org/

Although this race is the same day as the “Train”ing run, there is the possibility of participating in both events. Run a shorter distance for the “Train”ing run like the 6mi or 2.8mi option, or volunteer at a train stop, enjoy the RVRR picnic, and then come show off your RVRR speed for the College Ave. Mile!

Let your team captain know which championship races you intend to run – the current year list of races can be found on our “teams page” – each race is designated by division – for Masters races only runners age 40 and over can be entered on a team. Anyone can run in an Open division race, and for All Divisions races team captains will assign you to appropriate teams (runners 40 and over can be used on 2 teams!)

*When you join USATF it will ask for your club number – the RVRR club number is 202. If you happen to live outside NJ, you will be registered in the state where you reside. You will have to request to transfer your membership to USATF NJ manually to be eligible to run for RVRR.

At an event:

If you pre-registered, and you let your team captain know that you are running, you will already be on a team. If you are registering on the day, make sure your team captain has your bib number at least 45 minutes before the start. Team captains have until 30 minutes prior to the start of the race to complete their team submissions, so if you are registering on the day, please allow plenty of time.

You do not have to wear a team singlet but club members at the race to support will find it easier to spot you and cheer you on if you are wearing one (National events require matching singlets – if your team is involved in a national event, the team captain will coordinate this). RVRR singlets are usually available at Runner’s High in Metuchen, but it may be worth calling ahead to check on stock. Let the board know if there is no stock.

Most importantly – USATF prohibits the use of headphones or any portable listening device. As a USATF member, you should receive a pre-race email which includes the following: “Any USATF New Jersey athlete that is competing at a championship race as an individual or on a team cannot wear headphones or any other portable listening device. Championship competitors wearing headphones during the race will not be eligible for USATFNew Jersey Championship individual or team scoring or awards. Please leave your headphones in the car or at home!”

After the event:

Teams will score points based on the top 3 or 5 finishers in the team (depending on division/age/gender). The teams accumulates points during the year for each of the team groupings and for the club as a whole. So, the more people that run, the more points the club accumulates and increases our chances of placing in the championship.

It is also worth noting that there is an individual Grand Prix competition in addition to the team competition. Team Championship races are 700 point races in that competition. There will be a follow up post explaining the individual championship, but information can be found at this link if you are not familiar with it.

In summary:

Make sure you are a

current RVRR member

current USATF member

age-verified with USATF

Let your captain know you will be at a race.

If you are registering on the day, get your bib number to the captain at least 45 minutes before the start.

Don’t wear headphones during the race, or use any other listening device.

For those of you not running the NJ marathon on Sunday May 1, this is a great local option finishing right at our own HP track where we will have a table to let other runners know about our great club and events. The race directors are club members, the proceeds support the municipality where we run, and there’s a fantastic street fair afterwards. They are also looking for some volunteers, if you are interested, please sign up at http://runinthepark.org/

Clinton Country Run 15k is on Saturday, April 30– All Divisions (Open and Masters Men and Women)

Even if you’ve never run for our team (or any team) we need you! From the slowest to the fastest – pace is not important!

The Clinton 15k is an Open and Masters, Men and Women event, so everybody counts (Masters runners, those 40 and over, count twice)

All you need to be is an RVRR member and a USATF member.

ClintonCountry 15k has a beautiful course that is a combination of country streets, soft surface greenway, and some rolling hills.

This is your chance to try out a unique distance and get some awesome training in for your spring Marathon and/or trail racing. Let’s show those other teams what we are about!

Warning: team support can make you run faster.

If you can’t make this race, please look ahead at the rest of the races this year – listed at the bottom of this page. It’s often cheaper to sign up earlier (don’t forget there’s a USATF discount for all these races too).

On March 20th, the Raritan Valley Road Runners kicked off the USATF-NJ racing season with the Miles for Music 20k. Race directors and RVRR club members Anne and Joel Simpson created the Miles for Music charity to support music programs in schools. Thank you, Anne and Joel, for all of your hard work in organizing this event!

Some RVRR racers pose for a photo before the race

The RVRR Open Men’s teams scored 5th and 8th in the team standings. The Men’s Masters teams scored 7th and 10th as well.

The RVRR Women’s teams are off to a strong start with the 40s teams getting 4th and 9th, 50s teams getting 2nd and 5th, and our open team got 5th.

Thank you to everyone who raced for the RVRR teams!

Many club members also volunteered for the event. Thank you for braving the cold weather to support this event. This event would not have been possible without all of the outstanding volunteers!

On Saturday, April 16th from 8:30am-4pm (the day before the half during bib pickup), the club will attend the Unite Half Marathon Expo as a way to recruit more club members and make our presence in the area be known. We need VOLUNTEERS to chat up people about the club and encourage participation. Please SIGN UP for a shift HERE.

On Saturday, April 23rdthe club run will move to8am at Grove #5 and we will celebrate this annual time/location change by having a potluck breakfast at a nearby club members house. Mark your calendars, a potluck signup will be available soon. The location of the club members house will be available just before the run.

Speed workouts have started but there are a few spots still available – email the board (board@rvrr.org) if you’d like to join these sessions.

Coach Pete’s speed-work for RVRR members will start on Tuesday March 22

PURPOSE

All runners get faster if they train in purposeful workouts that follow precepts established by experience and experiment. If you want to get faster, speed-work works.

RVRR Support

Since Spring 2014, Coach Pete Priolo has trained RVRR members at Donaldson Park and at the Highland Park High School track. The workouts have been partially supported by the club. At the GMM meeting March 9, the club again voted to partially fund the speed training. This support allows the individual cost for the entire 14 session program to be just $50. The speed-work sessions are on Tuesday evenings from late March to early July. Coach Pete sets the starting time for the sessions. In past years this typically has been 6 to 6:30 PM.

Sign-Up

Registration is limited because large numbers become too difficult to keep track of. Therefore, it is a good idea to sign up ASAP if you are keen to add speed-work to your running program. Registration is first-come, first-served. Use this link:

Volunteer of the Year: Barney Ward
You can count on this person to do any task. a) Any individual organizing a major event (i.e. Youth Series, EBRR, Train Run) b) 1-3 additional individuals based on participation and enthusiasm c) Board members excluded from all above categories

Most Improved: Marvin Pilande
This award is judged upon the individual’s improvement in the current year over the previous year.

Sunshine Award: Ray Petit
This is intended to recognize a member who has shown a great dedication to improving the morale and spirit of the club, whose efforts have helped make the club more enjoyable for the members who otherwise have not received recognition directly from the club for his/her contributions.

Outstanding Club Member: John Kane
This award is to recognize a club member who has been a consistent and dedicated volunteer to our club and who has had a significant impact on the success of the club. The recipient should be someone who is both currently involved and has been contributing for several years prior and continues to serve a valuable role in the club. In summary, the award is neither intended to solely recognize past achievements nor to recognize a new comer who has been highly visible.

Allen Paul Award: Neil Hume
This award recognizes one board member each year for his/her outstanding contributions to the club as a member of the Board of Directors. It should take into account the level of dedication, commitment, altruism and integrity of the member in furthering the mission and goals of the club. Important aspects of the award would include implementation of new programs that help the club pursue our mission, and promoting an environment conducive to unity and growth of the club.

Lew Gibb Award: Tom O’Reilly
This award recognizes an individual who has made a significant and dedicated contribution to the sport of running in New Jersey in the spirit of Lew Gibb. An independent committee selects this award.